Trust and Teasing, Proffered
by Shizuka no Taisho
Summary: There was no struggle Thor wouldn't endure for his consort, no foe he wouldn't face. If Loki asked him to fetch a dragon's hide, Thor would immediately set out to slay one for his pleasure. All of this he would do, but these things were meaningless to the diminutive Jotun. He wanted only respect, trust. Thor gave it to him, gladly.


_I love these two. Really, I do. And this was just a fun little follow-up to write for Penance is Winter Cold. You don't necessarily need to read that one to get this, but I suggest it! _

_Disclaimer: Marvel isn't mine. No, seriously. It's not. _

There was no struggle Thor wouldn't endure for his consort, no foe he wouldn't face. If Loki asked him to fetch a dragon's hide, Thor would immediately set out to slay one for his pleasure. If he desired jewels, gold, then he would strike a deal with the dwarves and have only the finest jewelry crafted to grace his lovely throat and wrists. All of this he would do, but these things were meaningless to the diminutive Jotun. He wanted only respect, trust. Thor gave it to him, gladly. The strange realm of Narnia had been proof of this, when he heeded Loki's words and took them as truth.

Odd then, that all of this came so easy to the thunderer, and yet he found it difficult to stand in the freezing cold of Loki's personal rooms, even when bundled up in his warmest tunic and cloak, hands clad in fur lined gloves. One minute inside and he was shivering, wrapping his cloak tighter around himself to ward off the puffs of frosty air that were coming from his lips.

The cold was a necessity, of course. Loki was Jotun, and though his seidr protected him well from Asgard's heat when he was outside his personal rooms, he preferred to keep them at a temperature not unlike the climate he'd been born to. It was more comfortable for him, and the thunderer would do nothing to impede that. But it was difficult for him to handle the glacial temperatures. He wasn't quite sure what would happen after they were wed, when they would move into the new royal apartments already being built in the west wing of the palace. Thor couldn't live in biting cold, and it would be cruel to ask Loki to strain his magic any more than necessary, just so that he might live in the rooms without sweltering.

For now though, there was no need to dwell on such thoughts. His only desire was to spend some time with his consort, and the pelt wrapped around his broad shoulders. "For all its comeliness, you treat that mantle as if it were spun of golden thread." He took a seat at the foot of the bed and smiled at Loki. The sight of him was endearing; he laid upon the silk sheets and tawny brown stretches of fur, his raven hair strewn in cascades of ribbon behind his head. Normally they were dressed with silver and gold, as well as his horns, but Loki wore no adornment today. Only the mantle. His prize.

"Should I not take pleasure in your gift? After all, you went through such trouble to get it for me." Loki's face was buried in the soft shag of white fur, though it didn't completely hide everything from sight. He was smiling, a brilliant one that was tinted with mischief. But then, all of his smiles appeared that way. It was simply his nature. Irksome as it might be at times, Thor wouldn't have him any differently.

"Aye, and look what my generosity has gotten me. A consort who won't spare me a single glance, while he hides himself away in his new dressings like some spoiled kitten." In part he jested, for none could deny that Loki painted a most precious picture, cuddling into the silken soft pelt with childlike glee, crimson eyes bright with more pleasure than Thor had ever been able to invoke. A fault that wasn't entirely his own. Aesir law forbade their copulation until the night they were wed. Even more innocent acts were banned, to uphold the tradition of a pure marriage. It was foolhardy.

Nay. It was tempting. Thor no more appreciated rules than Loki, and he wanted to break this one. Why should they not indulge themselves? They were loyal to each other. Loki's purity was intact, until Thor could possess it, and mark him taken. Those stuffy court rules were better suited to the past, buried deep within history tomes to never be seen again. And if they were to exist, then it should be solely at his leisure, where he could bend and break them whenever he desired.

Thor swallowed a groan of need, fisting the bedclothes. The sight of his consort dressed only in a flimsy half-skirt and his snowy fur was almost enough to make him heartily consider it.

"Thor…" Loki's croon filtered through his ears, straining his already fractured patience. "Forgive me. I've been neglectful. But can you truly blame me? Your gift is a sumptuous one, well worth my attentions." He sat up and pulled the fur away from his face, finally turning his gaze onto the thunderer. As always, he saw too much, and it showed in the sparkle of his claret hued irises. "Mmm…." Loki crawled towards him, tempting him, a blue palm lifting to touch Thor's forearm. "You must not be as irritated as you claim. You barely seem able to lift your eyes from me. Is the sight of my form so pleasing to you?"

For all his complaints, Thor was made weak under those orbs, drawn to the tempting and arousing gleam within their jeweled brightness. Loki could drive a man to insanity with his eyes alone. Sometimes, Thor thought he already had. "Everything about you is pleasing to me, Loki." His voice came out huskier than he'd imagined it would be; Thor did his best to ignore this, reaching out to catch a length of ebony between his fingers and caress it from tip to crown, his fingertips gliding across Loki's hairline. "I only thought you might show more deference to the one who gave you the mantle in the first place."

"Deference..." a dark brow hefted upward. "Is that what you crave from me? Shall I prostrate myself before you then, as thanks for this most glorious gift?" Gathering the fur about him so that it swallowed his body in heavy folds, Loki stroked its velvety texture, peering at Thor through his lashes. "Mm...I suppose you do deserve it. You were so helpful, back in the witch's castle." He trailed off and moved his hand to Thor's chest. Against the metal of his armor, Loki's fingers stood out like sapphires, patterned with lighter trails of aquamarine. "You've well earned your own reward."

Thor was silent, warily watching his consort as the digits twitched and found the beat of his heart. His words had been meant it as a jest, nothing more, but if they were taken seriously...it might very well shatter the tentative peace he'd worked so hard to fabricate anew. Loki did not take kindly to being unappreciated. "Loki. I-"

"I know what you're going to say. Worry not. I know you didn't mean it that way." Matching his surprise with a teasing grin, the Jotun lowered his hand to better rest on Thor's sternum, the press of muscle evident even through his many layers. "But you have earned much. Few others would risk what you did to merely please me."

"It wasn't only to please you, Loki. I had to prove I could be trusted. And that I trusted in you," Thor murmured, taking up the slender hand and kissing every one of its whorled knuckles, the skin light and cool against his lips. The cloak slipped a few inches down Loki's body, and he adjusted it back into place, enjoying the feel of the snowy fur. "I'm pleased that you enjoy your gift so, though its beauty pales in comparison to your own. Are you certain it satisfies you?"

"It most certainly does. In ways you can only imagine," Loki cooed, lifting an edge of the mantle to rub across his cheek. He shouldn't, but the thunderer couldn't help feeling jealous. He wanted to touch Loki that way. The danger of risking his self control seemed a small price to pay for having that lovely flesh pressed to his own. It was a horrid temptation.

Thor growled, taking in a slow draught of air that did painfully little to curb his desires. "Trickster. Will there ever come a time when you will not tease me so?"

As if he were an innocent, falsely accused for his crimes, Loki jerked his cheek away from the soft fur and pursed those sapphire lips, looking all the more like a scorned and sorrowful lover. Except that he wasn't. He was a sinful little wretch, who used his wiles to torment the thunder god senseless. "Tease? You think I'm teasing you? Now Thor...why would I do such a thing? I know how trying this has been for you." Loki angled his body forward so that the shadows played across his meridian and navel, painting him in odd, grayish blue stripes. His cloak shifted with him, not quite covering his body properly. Thor could see the graceful arch of his rib-cage, a pearled nipple standing attentively as it pressed against the fur. How he longed to reach out and touch it, make it stiffer with strokes of his fingers and tongue. "To suffer without touching, only able to look on in wonder. You must feel miserable..."

So he did. A fact Loki was very well aware of, judging by the smile he was not quite able to hide behind his pitiful mask. "Aye. My torments are true. Being without the right to do as I please with your body is mercilessly cruel. Had I the choice, the old laws would be cast aside. Then you and I could celebrate our pleasure in each other most...intimately." Thor took his cheek in hand, tilting those elegant features up to the light. He had always thought Loki beautiful, even when they were freshly introduced and without a speck of compassion for one another. With his lithe body and aquiline facial structure, framed by long, flowing skeins of raven hair, he didn't resemble the other Jotnar. He was the runt, a spell caster. A jewel in any man's coffers. But now that they had come to know one another, Thor saw past his outermost beauty to the truth that was Loki. He wasn't disappointed.

"Thor?" The sound of his consort's voice curried his attention, and he growled quietly at the sensation of cold digits wandering down to his hips. There was the tickle of fur as Loki made to push closer, the bedclothes rustling beneath his knees and making scarlet glimmer in the torchlight. "Something else has caught your mind. I've never seen you look so…distracted."

"And do you mean to soothe my thoughts with your touch?" Chuckling, Thor caught one of those sneaky hands before it could move any lower and pinned it against his thigh, caressing the angular lines marking Loki's skin. "Loki. You tempt me."

"Do I?" It twitched beneath his palm, trying to work itself free. Thor wasn't having it, taking Loki by the wrist instead and pulling the smaller male against his chest, trapping him there in the makeshift noose of his arms and thighs. It was a deterrent, but only for the skillful taunt of his hands. Now he had an armful of nuzzling Jotun, Loki's lips brushing the patch of flesh revealed by his tunic's collar.

This might not have been the wisest course of action. Then again, Thor wasn't particularly known for such things. He preferred to follow his instincts, which had yet to fail him. "If you continue to tease me, I'll be forced to take extreme measures," he warned, kissing the base of a glossy horn. Almost of their own accord had his hands snuck beneath Loki's mantle and taken residence on a narrow waist, and he flexed his fingers in warning, threatening to dig them into the sensitive patches he knew to be residing beneath cobalt skin. "Do not test me, Loki." Thor grinned, seeing the flicker of surprise on his consort's face. "I may despise our vows, but I'll uphold them till that day when I may take you to bed as my consort, in the truest sense of the word."

"And not a day before." It wasn't a question. Although, he couldn't help but notice how Loki seemed a little sullen over the issue. It gave Thor hope, if nothing else. Hope for their future together, and what would become of their relationship after they had been bound and officially named as the future rulers of Asgard.

"Cease your sulking, trickster. Our vows are soon coming." Thor kissed the corner of his mouth and then flipped Loki onto his back, pinning his arms to the velvet clad pillows. "It is rather endearing though, to see you like this. I never would have imagined that you could appear so soft."

Loki flushed, wriggling under his hold. "Soft? Have you forgotten my origins then? I am Jotun, you oaf."

"Aye, that you are." Thor's scruff left a faint scratching trail over Loki's neck as he kissed and nosed all that the mantle didn't cover, the heavy mass of his hair making a golden veil around his face. "You are my beautiful, enchanting, clever and soft Jotun. And I would have you no other way. You are perfect, Loki, exactly as you are." Leaving him with those thoughts to ponder, Thor drew back with a hearty laugh, gesturing for the prince to follow. "Come. It's been too long since you last supped. I may crave your soft body against my own, but I'll not see it become sticks and bones before that day comes."

The fact that he'd cleverly toyed with Loki wasn't missed, and his summons only received a slight scoff before the trickster finally gave in, taking Thor's hand to help rise from the bed. "I had heard rumors that you preferred those that you take to bed to possess a lush curve. Is this your trick then, Thor? To fatten me up until I best fulfill your innermost desires?"

"Were I only taking you to bed, that might be true. But I'm to have you as more than a bed mate, Loki. You're my consort. My heart." He better wrapped that stunning figure in the shroud of fur, smoothing Loki's hair across the front in a brilliant contrast of ebony against white. Never would he be able to accurately describe just how much pleasure it gave him to see Loki wearing the mantle, when Thor had helped him acquire it. "You look lovely," he murmured, eliciting a rare smile from the male. I would have you wear this on our wedding day, if the seamstresses weren't already locked away in their quarters, breathing life to the garments designed."

"It is a pity..." with his smile still evident, Loki leaned into Thor's side and brought the fur up to his mouth, savoring the impossibly soft texture. "But I would see this as an opportunity, rather than true disappointment. If there is one thing the Aesir and my people share, it is an appreciation for quality fur. Should my wedding garb not pay tribute to both our cultures, and incorporate that particular love?"

It wasn't difficult to see what Loki was leading up to. Thor may be a warrior, but he was far cleverer than others gave him credit for. All save Loki. He seemed to encourage that side of him more than any other. "Indeed it should. I would love to see you wearing a fur upon our wedding day. It suits you well, Loki, and you deserve to have deference paid on our wedding day." He allowed the idea to linger a moment longer before giving in. After all, if Loki could tease, then so could he. Only when he started to writhe with impatience did Thor concede. "If it pleases you. Allow me to see to the task. I'll hunt the beast myself, and have its pelt cured for the tailors."

"What a generous offer," Loki purred. "What if they disagree with our vision?"

"That matters not. It is our opinions that count, and none other." Thor led Loki to the double doors of the room, a steady hand at the small of his back, caressing through fur to tickle the skin beneath. "You'll have what you desire, Loki. You know I care only for your happiness."

"And what of yours? Does your happiness mean so little that you might forgo it to ensure my own?"

There was genuine curiosity behind Loki's question, hidden well with an amused smirk. He shouldn't, but Thor found his feigned indifference adorable. No matter how much Loki tried to hide it, he knew he really cared. "Your happiness is mine. I need only to see you smile to know I've done well by you. All else is insignificant in my eyes." As well as Loki's, he assumed. Holding him more firmly against his side, Thor beamed down at the Jotun and basked in the sight of him, warmth overflowing from his chest. Stubborn and proud, deadly and poised. Encapsulated in white fur, Loki was everything he could ever have wanted in a consort. In a future partner at his side. He was eternally grateful to have him, as well as the trust proffered. And no matter what came to pass, never would Thor regret his actions.


End file.
